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The Secret Footballer: What the Physio Saw.
He's back - and this time he's got company. The Secret Footballer has teamed up with one of the most highly respected physios in the game to bring you the stories of a football season through the eyes of someone who has covered over 1000 games in his career and who knows the most intimate details about every player he treats.
From the pre-season pressures of a new manager and players who have overindulged on their summer breaks, to witnessing some truly horrific (and sometimes career-ending) injuries; from star players who think nothing of using him as their personal family doctor to revealing some of the more unconventional treatments players choose to experiment with, the physio has truly seen it all.
Alongside this privileged glimpse into the physio's world, The Secret Footballer will be telling his own tales of injury, pain and perseverance with his trademark insight and wit.
From the pre-season pressures of a new manager and players who have overindulged on their summer breaks, to witnessing some truly horrific (and sometimes career-ending) injuries; from star players who think nothing of using him as their personal family doctor to revealing some of the more unconventional treatments players choose to experiment with, the physio has truly seen it all.
Alongside this privileged glimpse into the physio's world, The Secret Footballer will be telling his own tales of injury, pain and perseverance with his trademark insight and wit.
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Published May 31, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 20, 2024
The Secret Footballer is back with this latest instalment in this brilliant series and this time it's got a twist,you see things from the perspective of the physio,what the deal with throughout the season,their secrets and revelations about what they see happening along with some input of stories from the Secret Footballer.this book isn't the best in the series but is still another enjoyable book in the series from the Secret Footballer.
September 16, 2023
The Secret Footballer: What the Physio Saw was a fun and easy read. It's a good read to give some indication on he running of professional football club from both the perspective of a former player and a physio (presumably still involved in the game). This book is not about dishing the dirt on the secret lives of footballers, it does give some insight to injury management in the club and it was a lot more interesting than that sounds. Even if you are not into sports or football, this is worth your reading time.
July 14, 2018
Ok, the ending is quite catchy and emotional, but it still is TSF's worst book. He's already elaborated on the most interesting stories and is now forced to recycle the weaker ones. Some of them at least get to some point, some are simply wasting the pages (why can't the book be 100-150 pages shorter?). Just take a break or change the format – this is getting pretty boring, man.
September 18, 2020
A good book that talks about football ⚽️ from a very different perspective. The role of the physio (in our world trainer) is critical to a team functioning well. The anecdotes and the processes they discuss made for an easy read.
January 21, 2024
The Secret Footballer: What the Physio Saw... by The Secret Footballer leaves much to be desired, offering a rather underwhelming reading experience. Despite the promise of exclusive insights into the inner workings of professional football, the book falls short in delivering any groundbreaking revelations.
The narrative lacks coherence and fails to engage readers effectively, with anecdotes that come across as generic and devoid of the depth one would expect from a tell-all book. The supposed insider perspective of the author does little to elevate the storytelling, and the writing style lacks the necessary flair and wit to make the content compelling.
While the focus on what the physio saw holds promise, the execution of this concept falls flat. Instead of providing a truly revealing account, the book presents a series of mundane observations that do little to illuminate the behind-the-scenes dynamics of professional football clubs.
In summary, "What the Physio Saw..." misses the mark in delivering genuine insights into the world of football. The lackluster storytelling and generic revelations make it difficult to recommend this book to those seeking a captivating and revealing look into the intricate workings of the beautiful game.
The narrative lacks coherence and fails to engage readers effectively, with anecdotes that come across as generic and devoid of the depth one would expect from a tell-all book. The supposed insider perspective of the author does little to elevate the storytelling, and the writing style lacks the necessary flair and wit to make the content compelling.
While the focus on what the physio saw holds promise, the execution of this concept falls flat. Instead of providing a truly revealing account, the book presents a series of mundane observations that do little to illuminate the behind-the-scenes dynamics of professional football clubs.
In summary, "What the Physio Saw..." misses the mark in delivering genuine insights into the world of football. The lackluster storytelling and generic revelations make it difficult to recommend this book to those seeking a captivating and revealing look into the intricate workings of the beautiful game.
October 24, 2025
3.5 would be fair. An interesting read, with some niche insight and humorous anecdotes. However some bits slightly repetitive and others that didn’t say a lot. Initially wasn’t a big fan of TSF’s writing but felt it was better towards the end in smaller doses. Enjoyable, but nothing groundbreaking.
December 31, 2018
As a sports therapist I thought this was a fantastic, accurate account. And as always with TSF, very witty throughout
August 11, 2019
Less repetition than previous versions, hopefully the start of getting other backroom staff to contribute more anecdotes too.
August 20, 2019
Interesting book. Good for summer :-)
May 23, 2024
Informative and interesting, one of a good series of SF books.
April 15, 2021
Having run out of anecdotes and other playing mates to provide some, TSF has released a book from the point of view of the physio. There was about 150 pages of content and 200 of boring filler, and this was neither as exciting nor enlightening as the previous books.
After a tedious creative-writing entry about going for a short run, TSF hands the reigns over to a 'Top 6 club' physio, who describes a typical season. Because this is a composite season, the discussion of fictional matches is both dull and unnecessary, and I'm not sure it's as good as the conventional one chapter per topic format. TSF pipes up at the end of each chapter to add his input, but I found his tone quite irritating here.
Fundamentally the physio's job is quite repetitive, and the book faithfully captures that experience. Even some of the diversionary stories, like players wearing new kit because they are paid to even though it is less comfortable, are not really news. The body is quite good at healing itself and this is told to us many times, and because this is a 'typical' season, I wasn't convinced any of the tales were necessarily true, rather that merely being 'in the spirit' of what happened. For an anonymous source, there weren't many new insights, and even the physio-specific stuff has often been recounted elsewhere.
This is probably the weakest of this series of books and 3 stars is quite generous. It wasn't that the topic doesn't warrant discussion, just that it was difficult to get involved in a fictional season and a lot of the content has been covered before, either elsewhere or earlier in the book. Thankfully the same ghostwriter has been used, so it's easy to read.
After a tedious creative-writing entry about going for a short run, TSF hands the reigns over to a 'Top 6 club' physio, who describes a typical season. Because this is a composite season, the discussion of fictional matches is both dull and unnecessary, and I'm not sure it's as good as the conventional one chapter per topic format. TSF pipes up at the end of each chapter to add his input, but I found his tone quite irritating here.
Fundamentally the physio's job is quite repetitive, and the book faithfully captures that experience. Even some of the diversionary stories, like players wearing new kit because they are paid to even though it is less comfortable, are not really news. The body is quite good at healing itself and this is told to us many times, and because this is a 'typical' season, I wasn't convinced any of the tales were necessarily true, rather that merely being 'in the spirit' of what happened. For an anonymous source, there weren't many new insights, and even the physio-specific stuff has often been recounted elsewhere.
This is probably the weakest of this series of books and 3 stars is quite generous. It wasn't that the topic doesn't warrant discussion, just that it was difficult to get involved in a fictional season and a lot of the content has been covered before, either elsewhere or earlier in the book. Thankfully the same ghostwriter has been used, so it's easy to read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews